WASHINGTON DC – May 4^th 2020 – The Global Research Business Network (GRBN) today announces the launch of its revised Participant Engagement Handbook ENGAGE 2.0 – 30 tips to improve the research participant user experience.

The objective of the Handbook is to help researchers deliver better experiences to research participants to both improve data quality and increase participation rates.

Version 1.0 of the ENGAGE Handbook issued in 2017 contained as many as 101 tips for increasing participant engagement. In 2020, we have worked with our partners to boil the number down to 30 key tips. Some are chosen because they are super simple to implement, others because of their significant impact on the research participant user experience and therefore data quality and ultimately the value our industry delivers to decision-makers.

The Handbook is filled with practical advice based not only on our own research-on-research, but also on the expertise of our partners, who we cannot thank enough for their support of the initiative and their willingness to share their wisdom.

Andrew Cannon, GRBN’s Executive Director, who led the creation of the handbook, notes: “Participants are the lifeblood our sector relies on to deliver quality data and insights to decision-makers. As the competition for people’s time continues to intensify, we need to collectively and individually step up our game and offer research participants not just good, but great experiences. By applying the tips in this Handbook researchers can do just that.”

The handbook not only helps researchers create better user experiences, but helps them increase end-clients’ brand equity by making market research a positive touchpoint for a brand.

Dave Rothstein, CEO at RTi Research, commented: “Bravo GRBN!  This handbook is a terrific resource and a great service to the industry.  It will be mandatory reading for the entire staff at RTi Research. No matter how experienced each of us may be, there is something to learn here (or perhaps, relearn) for everyone.”

More information on the GRBN Participant Engagement Initiative can be found here and the ENGAGE 2.0 Handbook can be accessed directly from here.

 

*****

About GRBN (www.grbn.org)

The Global Research Business Network connects 45 research associations and over 3500 research businesses on six continents. More than US$25 billion in annual research revenues (turnover) are generated by these businesses. GRBN’s mission is to promote and advance the business of research by developing and supporting strong autonomous national research associations and undertaking global industry initiatives.

Twitter: @grbn_org

At SampleCon earlier this month, GRBN’s Andrew Cannon presented the key findings from our research into the impact of incentives on participant engagement and data quality. The presentation was followed by an expert panel discussion featuring Kerry Hecht from Echo MR, Lisa Wilding-Brown from Innovate MR and Scotty Greenburg from Tango Card, who discussed the implications of the research for our sector.

One of the key findings from the research was that the amount of incentive does have a significant impact on participant engagement, especially for longer surveys:

Perhaps not earth shattering news by itself, but a good reminder that our research design decisions do impact the participants.

Join our webinar on the 19^th March to find out if data quality is likewise impacted? We’ll also look at the impact of sweepstakes and charity donations.

The webinar will dig into the key findings from the research and our panel of experts will explore the implications for the buyers and users of research, and discuss the changes we can make to improve both the participant experience and data quality.

You can register for the webinar here

THANKING OUR PARTNERS

A big thank you to our partners Tango Card, Innovate MR and Echo for enabling this initiative to take place.

At SampleCon this year, GRBN’s Andrew Cannon will be presenting the key findings from our research into the impact of incentives. The presentation will be followed by an expert panel discussion featuring Kerry Hecht from Echo MR, Lisa Wilding-Brown from Innovate MR and Scotty Greenburg from Tango Card, who will discuss the implications of the research for our sector.

Data quality is an important issue for our industry, and data quality is impacted by many factors. We know for example that participant engagement impacts data quality, but do we understand how incentives impact participant engagement?

We know that incentives are being driven down by price compression, but have we paused to consider what impact this is having on both participant engagement and data quality?

These are the issues GRBN has set out to explore. Specifically, we want to understand:

1. What impact does doubling the financial reward have?
2. What impact does paying no incentives have?
3. What impact do sweepstakes and charity donations have?
4. What impact does giving a great UX have?

Thanking our partners

With the help of our partners Tango Card, Innovate MR and Echo we will be exploring the role of incentives in both a panel and river environment.

We hope to see you soon in Atlanta for SampleCon. If you haven’t already done so, you can register here.

“Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind”.

This quotation or ancient Chinese proverb, attributed to Sir Austen Chamberlain in the 1930’s, & to Robert Kennedy in the 1960’s was as true then as it is today. Technology has completely transformed the way we live & will continue to shape our future, from the way we work, do business, travel, provide healthcare, communicate & generally go about our daily lives. But it also struck a chord with me when I think about the real impact these macro consumer trends are having on our industry, an industry I have worked in long enough to remember when the main decision was do you do a paper survey or focus groups.

I truly believe there has never been a better or more exciting time to work in the insight & research industry – there isn’t a brand on the planet who is not trying to develop better products, supply better services, and build better relationships with their customers. We are perfectly placed to help them achieve this, but to do so, must continue to embrace new and innovative ways of working, adopt new technologies, & explore new communication channels to reach & engage younger audiences. Most importantly though we need to move our thinking on from customer centricity to human centricity.

Consumer behaviour has evolved, & we are now in an era of digital based competition & customer control meaning the marketing strategies focused on customer loyalty prevalent over the last decade are becoming less effective. According to the latest research from Kantar Retail, 71% of consumers now claim that loyalty incentive programs don’t make them loyal at all. Instead, people are buying brands who can fulfil their needs in a personal & relevant way. In addition, two of the fundamental ‘p’s’ of the marketing mix, Product & Price are no longer enough to attract people’s money as personalisation & experience are the key differentiators for brands with people willing to pay more for a superior service or experience.

So what does this mean for market research professionals & how do we stay useful & relevant in these changing times?

Well, you can breathe a brief sigh of relief, because the good news is, we absolutely can, providing we adapt and evolve our practices & methodologies to mirror & support these emerging trends. We used to help brands with product testing, brand tracking & market measurement. In recent years this focus has shifted towards helping businesses drive customer centricity & insight led decision making within their organisations – all of which is of huge value & is a step in the right direction. But this is not enough to remain current in the long-term. To achieve this, we need to shift from customer experience (Cx) to human experience (Hx). In order to find out how brands fit into people’s lives we need to treat people as people. We can call them customers when they buy from us, or viewers when they view our content, users when they utilise our services, but we have to recognise that we are all people and brands & services play a small part in our active lives.  People don’t want to be defined by data points, or spoken to like a customer, they want to be engaged with as living, breathing, well-rounded human beings.

We have successfully helped companies listen more attentively to the voice of their customers, we now have to build on this and use our expertise & access to the right data & insights to be the evangelists of human centricity & help them connect emotionally with their customers as individuals, delighting & exciting them with a human touch.

Peter Harris

CEO, Potentiate